2009 Trader Joe’s Vintjs Oregon Pinot Gris

This is about the pendulum swinging back the other way. In recent years Pinot Gris producers have been making their wines in a very light style and by very light, I mean VERY light. They made it for wine drinkers that really didn’t like wine, Pinot Gris was more of a grape beverage than a wine. Just the same, they sold gallons of the stuff and Pinots Gris with a bit of body to it languished on the store shelves. Just when you were about to usher Pinot Gris over to the White Zinfandel section, it starts to make a comeback. This is a Trader Joe’s wine so there is no information about who grew the grapes or how the wine was made, but the grapes are sourced from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. You don’t usually see Oregon wines at this price point. The alcohol level is a reasonable 12.8%.

Light see-thru golden yellow in color. The nose is citrus and orange blossom along with a hint of strawberry, it would make a good aroma candle. The first sensation you get upon sipping the Vintjs is a large wallop of acidity, this is a food wine. Tangerine, lemon, pink grapefruit, softened by melon, fresh fruit flavors, nothing candied or artificial. The acidity overpowers the tangerine/melon finish, but with the lovely fruit flavors upfront you can live the loss.

This a Pinot Gris that can stand up to food, don’t worry about too spicy, the Vintjs Pinot Gris can handle it, a nice bowl New Orlean’s style Gumbo would hit the spot.

2007 A to Z Night & Day Southern Crossing Red Blend

35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 20% Syrah, 10% Sangiovese, 4% Grenache and 4% Cabernet Franc all sourced from vineyards in the Rouge Valley of Southwestern Oregon. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, A to Z’s website does not specify the length of time the Night & Day was aged, but says the wine should continue to improve for the next 5 to 10 years. 13.5% alcohol content.

Really dark opaque red. The nose is cherries, plums, dark chocolate, cigars and vanilla. Complicated and good tasting, Ripe red fruit, then cocoa powder, followed by black and blueberries, oak spice and creamy vanilla hits at the mid-palate. A long, long finish of blueberry and vanilla.

A talented Winemaker can take good grapes and blend them into a final product that is far better than the individual ingredients. The A to Z Night  & Day Southern Crossing, a bit of a long winded name, is an expertly made, well balanced, yummy wine. This would pair very well with a nice bacon wrapped filet.

The A to Z website has a list of local distributors, if you would like to find the Night & Day Southern Crossing in your area.

http://www.atozwineworks.com/distributors.html

Pinot Noir Barrels Find New Life Thanks To Oregon Whiskey

You and whiskey. All in all, you’ve got a pretty good thing going.

That doesn’t mean you haven’t wandered. A seductive aperitif in a hotel bar. A cheap beer when you really needed it. And, sooner or later, everyone occasionally winds up wetting their beak in a good pinot.

And—you better sit down for this—that includes your faithful whiskey.

Introducing Whipper Snapper Whiskey, a new vagabond of an Oregon whiskey (by way of Chicago), which compensates for its relatively young age with a lifetime of experience. Let us explain.

The first thing you need to know: this is a product from the  distiller (with strong Chicago connections) that last wowed you with Ransom, a gin that gets that little hint of something extra by using former pinot noir barrels for aging. And they figured, hey, if you’ve got some extra pinot barrels lying around, you might as well make some whiskey too…

The result: a pot-stilled hooch that has all that kick you want from a shot of white lightning, but with the refinement and depth of an aged scotch or bourbon. Basically, think of it as the whiskey that would be concocted by a Master Sommelier who dabbled in moonshine.

In other words, your jug band will approve.

(courtesy Urban Daddy Chicago)

2008 Jigsaw Oregon Pinot Noir $15

This Pinot Noir is sourced from multiple vineyards all over Oregon. The grapes from each vineyard are aged separately for 10 months in French oak barrels. Then the individual barrels of single vineyard Pinot Noir are blended together, hence the Jigsaw name.

The color is a see-thru dusky red. The nose is tart red fruit, minerals and dust. The taste is sweet at first, strawberries, blackberries,  then a hit  of acidity. The overall impression is of a clean, crisp, dry wine. The finish is tasty and lingers.

A solid Pinot Noir, good fruit, nice structure, would pair well with all but the heaviest of food.

2008 Montinore Estate Muller-Thurgau $10

Estate grown in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, Muller-Thurgau is certified organic and certified bio-dynamically grown. You don’t see the Muller-Thurgau grape grown much in the U.S., it was the number 1 grape grown in Germany in the 70’s but it is the now the 3rd most planted grape (Riesling is #1 and Pinot Noir #2). It is used in cheaper bulk wine, such as Blue Nun, but that’s Germany, and grapes can change in character when grown in a different region. A low alcohol content of 10.5%.

Very light in color, more like a light yellow tint in water. A lightly scented nose, fresh apricots and sliced ripe apples and the faint aroma of flowers. The mouth fell is slightly syrupy, kind of like canned fruit packed in light syrup. From the texture I was expecting the wine to be sweet, but that wasn’t the case, it has a light, subtle, but complex tart citrus taste. A bit of lemon/lime, a touch of red grapefruit. The finish shows some acidity and is a mix of citrus flavors and it lingers. Everything about this wine is subtle and understated, almost too subtle to pair with all but the lightest flavored food. But, the low alcohol content would make the Montinore Estate Muller-Thurgau an excellent wine to sip while watching the sun go down at the end of busy summer’s day.

2007 A to Z Oregon Riesling – $12

Sourced from 4 vineyards, two in the higher altitudes of Southern Oregon and two of the oldest vineyards in the Northern Willamette Valley. No malolactic fermentation (Wine Fact: Malolactic fermentation gives the wine a full lush mouth feel and imparts a buttered popcorn nose and a green apple flavor to the wine.) Fairly small production of 2,733 cases.

The color is a very light golden wheat yellow. The nose is tangerines, mineral dust and key lime pie. The flavor is soft orange blossom honey, delicate, not tart citrus. The finish is soft ripe peaches, again very delicate. A seductive wine, it does not hit you over the head with flavor, but it sneaks up on you, it wraps itself around your taste buds.

The A to Z has nice acidity, but don’t pair it with food that is too spicy. The soft honeyed citrus and fruit would better accompany lighter meals and dessert.

2006 Gypsy Dancer Oregon Pinot Noir – $16

Ok, so this isn’t really a $16 Pinot, it normally sells for anywhere from $40 to $60, but again I found an end of the bin special. I was not familiar with Gypsy Dancer Pinot but how can you turn down this kind of deal. The grapes are sourced from the A & G Estate Vineyards in the Dundee Hills region of Oregon. In checking the web for information on this Pinot, I found that the Winemaker, Gary Andrus passed away Jan. 30, 2009 and this is the last vintage ever to be produced. So, that’s the reason the wine was in the cut-out bin. This is a very small volume, (480 cases produced), unfiltered wine.

The color is a dense, but see thru deep red, with brown overtones. The nose is the classic Pinot Noir aroma, mushrooms, crumples leaves, a little bit of flowers and a hint of mint, nothing else smells like a good Pinot. The flavor is delicate, not overpowering but somehow huge at the same time.  Your mouth is filled with flavor, but none of the flavors overpower, just an explosion of subtle blended tastes. There are black and blueberries in there, also some Junior Mints, this is a very balanced delicate yet full. There isn’t really a finish, it is more like the initial flavors refuse to give up, it lasts a long time. The Gypsy Dancer is more fruit forward and less earthy than some Pinots, but is is beautifully balanced and wonderfully subtle.

I spilled some of the wine for a fallen Homey, it looks like I’m a fan of Gary Andrus’s wines a little too late, he made a really good wine. The Gypsy Dancer is well worth searching out if you can find it, it was a $60 wine before he passed and now is $40 and if your lucky much much less.

Owen Roe Sharecropper’s Pinot Noir – $19

Owen Roe is not the name of the Winemaker, Owen is sort of the Irish equivalent to William Wallace. The Winemaker David O’Reilly who along with Jerry Owen make a line of terrific wines from the Pacific Northwest. They’re wines are always top quality and even on years when the weather does not cooperate they come up with interesting wines. This Pinot is sourced from a few different vineyards in the Northern Willamette Valley of Oregon, aged 9 months in French oak, alcohol content 13.75% and a fairly small volume of 4,500 cases produced.

The nose has a lot to offer, jammy fruit, vanilla, a whiff of brewing coffee, and a little bit of musty mushroom aroma. The mouth feel is a bit oaky, a  dry feeling in the back of the mouth, this is a young Pinot, it’s fine to drink now, but a year or two of bottle age will tame the oak. The color is a glassy crimson, very pretty. There is abundant spice and pepper, it comes in layers and is not overwhelming, the fruit is dark and dry, not sweet, with some thin no fizz cola flavor. That may not sound like a good combination on paper, but on your palate it works just fine. A very multidimensional wine, what you taste in the first sip of your glass will change by the last sip of your glass, lot’s of fun to drink.

Not the “Holy Grail” under $20 Pinot ( you need to catch a sale to get the Sharecropper for under $2o), But a rock solid, attention grabbing Pinot.

NV Evolution Lucky #9 12th Edition White

You heard of Caymus? Ask your fancy friends. They’ll tell you they have a white blend called Conundrum. Problem is, it’s $22. Qualifies to be on Cheap Wine Finder, but it’s $7 more than it’s worth, especially when this wine from Oregon’s Sokol Blosser – Evolution Lucky #9 12th Edition – is just as good and maybe even better.

It too is a white blend – of 9 grapes! Beautiful pristine honey color with a nose full of ripe melon.

 The first sip smacked me with juicy canteloupe, then finished with a crisp Granny Smith.

I enjoyed this with a seafood gumbo. The server told me she gets her customers to try this when they order a Riesling and they never look back. She looks just like one of those patriotic pinup girls from WWII. Great body, and I’m talking about the wine too. Come to think of it, patriotic, just like the wine (most Rieslings are German).

Try it with spicy Thai food (is there any other kind of Thai food)?

Price: $15
Year: None (non vintage)
Place: USA, Oregon
Booze: 12%
Aging: unoaked/stainless
Grapes: Muller-Thurgau, Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner